In many industries it becomes necessary to conduct oxidation tests on metal samples prior to their industrial use. One preferred method of conducting such tests is to expose the metals to the gases and heat extant in an existing boiler facility.
It is well known in the prior art, as evidenced, for example, by the prior U.S. Pat. Nos. to Wilkening No. 457,977, Klaudt 2,010,596, Pirone 2,293,168, Burkey 2,725,989 and Wisecarver 3,880,394, among others, to provide longitudinally extensible brackets that are adapted for mounting between a pair of stationary objects. It is also known to provide pipe brackets or the like including members having faces that conform with the outer periphery of the pipe or tube that is to be supported thereby, as taught, for example, by the patent to Downs U.S. Pat. No. 2,578,993.
The present invention was developed to permit a plurality of specimens to be tested without creating excessive disturbance to the refractories behind the boiler tubes such as would occur if the samples were attached to the tubes by means of bands, spring-loaded clamps or ring clamps. Such devices can only be attached to the tubes by removing the refractory behind the tube, while the bracket of the present invention is merely slipped in place between two parallel tubes and the oppsositely threaded shaft is ratcheted until the jaws of the bracket fit securely against, and partially around, the two tubes. The slightly greater than 1/4 revolution of the jaw configuration prevents the bracket from being pulled out by weight of the specimens or by exhaust gas draft. When the boiler tubes expand during heating, the bracket is forced into greater tightness. Unlike clamps or other devices which might damage or penetrate the tubes, the relatively soft material of the bracket will compensate for tube expansion by deforming. In addition, the adjustable jaws of the bracket enable its use in facilities having a variety of on-center distances between boiler tubes.
The low profile of the present invention permits a variety of metals to be tested without severely disturbing the normal gas flows within the boiler facility, and the simplicity of its design requires minimal machining and welding skills for its assembly.